TV: Bombshell opens on ‘Smash’

“Opening Night” featured some great moments (courtesy of Megan Hilty) but more so terrible ones (courtesy Katharine McPhee and the return of Emory Cohen). While I love watching this train wreck unfold, I can honestly say I will not miss this show once it is cancelled, which it most likely will be. I will miss Hilty and a few of the actors (the very underappreciated and wonderful Wesley Taylor, who plays Bobby), but I can always wait for their next Broadway appearance.

Before opening night, Ivy (Megan Hilty) is afraid to read any reviews of her performance, but in this age of the ever-present media, she cannot escape them.

Julia (Debra Messing) is running ideas by Tom (Christian Borle) for their next project. Because nothing screams musical like Lord of the Flies or The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Seriously; those were her suggestions.

Hit List has sold out for the rest of its run, and the cast has been invited to Bombshell’s opening night, to Karen’s (Katharine McPhee) dismay.

Tom is asked to be the director for a revival of City of Angels — as long as his Bombshell director reviews are good. However, this would be a full time job, leaving no time for a new collaboration with Julia. Oh heavens; what will he do?

Leo (Emory Cohen) is back and worse than ever. One of the first things he says is a remark about seeing Ivy naked. Gross. Also, that haircut. Wow. That’s bad.

Insight into Jimmy’s (Jeremy Jordan) past is supposed to be a main focus of tonight’s episode; except, nothing is a surprise. That mysterious guy is Adam (David Call), Jimmy’s brother, who is the one that got Jimmy into that bad boy life after issues with their dysfunctional family took a turn for the worse. And, of course, Kyle (Andy Mientus) is the one who saved him.

Jimmy could have been such a great character had someone put a little bit of thought into him. Why does this show excel in writing beautiful lyrics, yet is terrible in attempting to write a simple storyline? They need a dramaturg and bad.

Whoever thought pairing up Adam and Ana (Krysta Rodriguez) is, well, an idiot. Do not put her in harm. She is one of the few characters I can tolerate. Also, he is NOT that good looking so I do not see the strange attraction she has to him.

Julia pitches doing a Great Gatsby musical to Tom who is only hesitant because he might get that directing job. Oh, backstabbing is always a great way to go.

Eileen (Anjelica Huston) and Richard (Jamey Sheridan) officially break it off and only Agnes (Daphne Rubin-Vega) is upset. Honestly, was anyone rooting for that couple? There was no chemistry between those actors, so how did this become a storyline?

Let’s take a moment to reflect on Karen’s outfit for the opening. As a friend of mine would say: “Look at your life. Look at your choices.” Is that flapper style really working for you? I know nothing about fashion and even I know you look ridiculous. Ivy, on the other hand, looked fabulous.

Before the curtain rises, Ivy quickly talks with her mom, Leigh (Bernadette Peters), about her nerves. For the first time, a truly great mother-daughter moment happened as all the adorableness flowed from Hilty and Peters. Love those two.

Unfortunately, we only got to see the curtain rise before a cut to commercial. Seriously?! No montage of those wonderful performances? Nothing?! What a rip off.

But I was incredibly excited to see Hilty’s version of “Don’t Forget Me.” It is WAY better than McPhee’s, which even Karen could tell as she looked uncomfortable, again.

WHY was Rosie O’Donnell in the audience? What purpose did that serve? Of all the celebrities to choose, you choose Rosie. “Look at your life. Look at your choices.” Then to add insult to injury, Rosie is the one to spill the beans to Julia about Tom’s possible directing gig.

While that guest actor was terrible, Rubin-Vega was amazing in her role as the pushy PR agent. I think her scene, as she waited for the reviews to come in, was the only realistic scene that has ever been on the show. Finally, some insight as to how the Broadway world actually works; it only took 27 episodes.

When Julia confronts him, Tom explains that he wasn’t expecting her to wait around while he worked for the Angels production. He wanted to focus on his directing career. However, his dream is crushed when the reviews come in and praise everything but his directing. Then, he wants to consider doing Gatsby, which Julia doesn’t fall for.

Karen and Ivy are acting all chummy in the bathroom, giving each other half-hearted compliments about the other’s talents. The two then duo to “That’s Life,” in which Ivy confirms that she is way better than Karen – singing and performing wise. They sound great together, but McPhee just pales in comparison to Hilty’s vocals.

An altercation occurs between Jimmy and Adam at the opening, which Eileen solves by coolly dumping a bucket of ice on them. Ha! I wish it had been a giant glass of wine.

Karen tells Jimmy she is scared of him and that he can’t change despite the fact that he says he is trying. My goodness, I hate her more and more. She is way too judgmental and just terrible.

Derek (Jack Davenport) wants to take Hit List to Broadway this season, putting it in direct competition with Bombshell at The Tony’s. Oh my goodness. FINALLY a storyline I can get excited about! Derek, you wonderful British man you.

Upon Ivy’s questioning, Karen tells Ivy that Derek had asked her out a few weeks ago, meaning he came to Ivy after Karen rejected him, again. Awh, I was actually ok with their relationship this time. Now, Ivy is irritated and gives Derek the boot, which leads to him hooking up with that one dancer who announced their past relationship a few episodes back.

Scott (Jesse L. Martin) tells Julia to do Gatsby as a play since the New York Times review praised her as a playwright, not a simple book writer. Ok, another storyline I could get into.

Tom and Kyle leave together to go hook up. NO. STOP IT NOW. Not ok.

Eileen tells Agnes to double the advertising budget so that Bombshell can sweep The Tony’s. Listen, I love your enthusiasm but you need a reality check.